Eureka! : European Research Universities and the Challenges of the 21st Century

European universities currently face a dire financial crunch: governments throughout Europe are slashing their budgets for higher education, and fund-raising organizations are far less developed in European universities than in their American counterparts. €ureka! examines how European universities are rapidly adjusting to the situation, drawing on interviews with professionals and students from institutions in the League of European Research Universities. The contributors discuss ways in which European universities can raise funds and whether they will continue scholarly research or transform into research laboratories. €ureka! is a fascinating look at the state of higher education in a global context "In all of Europe universities have to deal with government retrenchment. Institutions are forced to find new sources of financing, such as making their academic research a source of income. But does external financing leave enough room for essential research that is not directly useful to the sponsor? Or are the universities soon to become exalted R & D centres in the service of the corporate sector?" "In Eureka! prominent scholars describe how the twelve universities of the League of European Research Universities (Cambridge, Edinburgh, Geneva, Heidelberg, Helsinki, Leiden, Louvain, Milan, Munich, Oxford, Stockholm, Strasbourg) handle this financial challenge. Where do the scientists, students and administrators stand, faced with new revenue streams coming to their universities? And what can their European colleagues learn from them?"--BOOK JACKET Reveals how members of the League of European Research Universities - Oxford, Cambridge, Milan, Leiden, Edinburgh, Geneva, Heidelberg, Helsinki, Munich, Louvain and Stockholm - have dealt with government cutbacks in higher education, from appeals to the alumni, to increasing commercial R & D activities. Edited By Bart Funnekotter ; With Contributions By Thomas Blondeau ... [et Al.] ; [translated By Susan Hammons].